Facebook to kill IE6 support for Chat on IE9 beta day

Come September 15, Facebook Chat will no longer support Internet Explorer 6.

Facebook has announced that it will soon end Internet Explorer 6 support for Facebook Chat. The kill date is September 15—the same day Microsoft plans to release the first IE9 beta. Today's announcement comes just a week after Microsoft launched a beta version of Windows Live Messenger that integrates with Facebook Chat.

Facebook explains its decision by saying that many users have complained about unstable chat sessions, or ones that stop completely. In order to improve the way connections are established and messages are sent, however, the social networking giant must make changes that aren't supported by older browsers.

Meanwhile, a growing number of technology firms have taken the problem into their own hands. The IE6 hater is Google: the company has killed off support for the obsolete browser in Google Docs and Google Sites, Gmail and Google Calendar, as well as YouTube. Even Microsoft has taken some baby steps in this direction; the new Office Web Apps don't support the browser either.

Facebook's decision is reason for IE6 haters to celebrate, but unfortunately it's not going to spell doom for the ancient browser. The majority of IE6 users come from the corporate world, and as we've discussed before, one of the reasons that world keeps IE6 around is exactly because it doesn't work well with social networking sites like Facebook. Facebook's changes may mean fewer IE6 users using the chat feature, but this won't be because the change will spur people into upgrading—they can't upgrade their office machines. It will be because they won't be able to chat at all.

Last month, IE6 had a usage share of just under 17 percent; at the start of the year it had just over 20 percent. Major sites putting an end to IE6 support for popular features is not enough to kill the browser, but the rapid growth of Windows 7 should make slow but steady progress in eradicating it from the Internet.

What this really means is that come September 15th, they will be improving/changing facebook chat in such a way that it's no longer possible to run it in IE6. As terrible as IE6 is, people using it doesn't really affect facebook on some moral level. Instead, it's just frustrating to deal with the limited featureset and broken implementations of stuff.

So it's good news because it means facebook chat will be getting better.

The majority of IE6 users come from the corporate world, and as we've discussed before, one of the reasons that world keeps IE6 around is exactly because it doesn't work well with social networking sites like Facebook.

So basically they want to use an unstable, insecure browser with a billion security holes because it acts as a "firewall" against sites corporations don't want employees to use? That makes no sense.

The majority of IE6 users come from the corporate world, and as we've discussed before, one of the reasons that world keeps IE6 around is exactly because it doesn't work well with social networking sites like Facebook.

So basically they want to use an unstable, insecure browser with a billion security holes because it acts as a "firewall" against sites corporations don't want employees to use? That makes no sense.

the main reason is because the apps they depend on arent compatible with any newer versions of IE. their employees not being able to access social websites is just a plus to corporations.

I've always said that if I ever met an IE project manager in person, I'd punch him right in the throat. I stand by that to this day.

I'd go higher in the MSFT organization. The problem wasn't that IE6 sucks (well, it does but...), rather that browser development stopped for so long between 6 and 7.

The point is that when you let corporations and individuals get used to one technology for so long, it creates a momentum that is hard to change. If IE7 and IE8 came out in 30 month intervals after IE6 (instead of 60+ months), less IE6 specific apps would have been written. To mix metaphors, its hard to plant your flag on a rolling stone.

The majority of IE6 users come from the corporate world, and as we've discussed before, one of the reasons that world keeps IE6 around is exactly because it doesn't work well with social networking sites like Facebook.

So basically they want to use an unstable, insecure browser with a billion security holes because it acts as a "firewall" against sites corporations don't want employees to use? That makes no sense.

the main reason is because the apps they depend on arent compatible with any newer versions of IE. their employees not being able to access social websites is just a plus to corporations.

I know, I was taking issue with something said in the article. If they want to filter out Facebook there are far easier ways of doing that than insisting on people using a browser that gives them a sub-optimal Facebook experience and hope they just lose interest.

Corporations are in many cases stuck with IE6 because they bought into crappy internal financial systems (from outfits like SAP and others) that only work with IE6, and they find themselves locked in. The refusal of IE6 to work with distracting web sites might be a consolation prize, but the security risks from running such an ancient pile of crap probably outweighs this. After all, they could simply block sites that employees waste too much time on.

The majority of IE6 users come from the corporate world, and as we've discussed before, one of the reasons that world keeps IE6 around is exactly because it doesn't work well with social networking sites like Facebook.

So basically they want to use an unstable, insecure browser with a billion security holes because it acts as a "firewall" against sites corporations don't want employees to use? That makes no sense.

the main reason is because the apps they depend on arent compatible with any newer versions of IE. their employees not being able to access social websites is just a plus to corporations.

I know, I was taking issue with something said in the article. If they want to filter out Facebook there are far easier ways of doing that than insisting on people using a browser that gives them a sub-optimal Facebook experience and hope they just lose interest.

Hell people go on Facebook with feature-phones that barely support HTML losing one feature isn't going to stop them.

I've always said that if I ever met an IE project manager in person, I'd punch him right in the throat. I stand by that to this day.

I'd go higher in the MSFT organization. The problem wasn't that IE6 sucks (well, it does but...), rather that browser development stopped for so long between 6 and 7.

Exactly. The IE project managers are actually the good guys, because after IE6, the team pretty nearly got disbanded, so there weren't project managers.

When they finally got the go ahead to do IE 7, they brought in people who cared about making a world-class standards-based browser -- and they all had to start from scratch on the codebase. so IE7 had to have modest goals. That's why IE7 was about patching egregious bugs in really old standards, and didn't really get any further than that.

After they got through that, IE8 and IE9 have each made enormous strides in standards support. Even if you still hate IE, the people on the IE team are the ones that are working to make the browser better, not the ones who held it back for so long.

It's about time mind you I can say that within the company I work for testing on IE7 & 8 has gone on internally for over a year now and we are still on IE6. Somehow I don't think Facebook Chat is going to make them freak out and switch us all over. I would hazard a guess that there are little to no personal users actually using IE6 it will all be large corporations using IE6 because it supports the core applications their business has developed which is exactly our case.

In my other life as a freelance web designer I offer no support for IE6 at all if that's something the client is after they can keep walking as personally I see it holding back the online community.

I know, I was taking issue with something said in the article. If they want to filter out Facebook there are far easier ways of doing that than insisting on people using a browser that gives them a sub-optimal Facebook experience and hope they just lose interest.

But that's a worse way, because it breeds resentment: it tells your employees that you think they're all badly-behaved children and you need to actively stop them visiting certain websites.

Whereas this way, it's not your fault that they can't use YouTube/Facebook/etc. properly. You've done nothing patronizing. It's just that the websites decided to break IE6.

It's a much less confrontational way of dealing with the issue of Internet time-wasting.

Good to see, hopefully a lot of those IE6 users will move on to IE8/9 or FF/Chrome!

Not going to happen, especially so long as more modern browsers - I'm looking at IE8, but even Firefox 3 is guilty here - have over-complex UI's. Make an IE8 version with an interface and skin IDENTICAL to that of IE6, and then you'd see a lot of the remaining users upgrade.

Good to see, hopefully a lot of those IE6 users will move on to IE8/9 or FF/Chrome!

Not going to happen, especially so long as more modern browsers - I'm looking at IE8, but even Firefox 3 is guilty here - have over-complex UI's. Make an IE8 version with an interface and skin IDENTICAL to that of IE6, and then you'd see a lot of the remaining users upgrade.

Tiny buttons, no menus visible, semi-unreadable URL's (IE8), tabs... don't confuse "few buttons" with "not complex", that's "hiding things". One of the VERY common IE8 questions I get is "where's reload". It seriously, seriously bugs people!

This is intimidating to people who don't use computers very often. IE6, for all it's flaws, had big buttons with an address bar directly below them, etc.

Setting up an option start which has a "Look like IE6" button would help. It would be practical and get people moving off IE6, as they are only VERY slowly at the moment. I've found (and I help a charity which is involved in this) that setting up more modern browsers with large icons and so on like IE6 considerably smooths the transition.

Tiny buttons, no menus visible, semi-unreadable URL's (IE8), tabs... don't confuse "few buttons" with "not complex", that's "hiding things". One of the VERY common IE8 questions I get is "where's reload". It seriously, seriously bugs people!

This is intimidating to people who don't use computers very often. IE6, for all it's flaws, had big buttons with an address bar directly below them, etc.

Setting up an option start which has a "Look like IE6" button would help. It would be practical and get people moving off IE6, as they are only VERY slowly at the moment. I've found (and I help a charity which is involved in this) that setting up more modern browsers with large icons and so on like IE6 considerably smooths the transition.

That makes more sense.

I fully support any customization a user makes to a browser, Firefox in this regard is awesome. IE8 and Chrome are not as customizable as FF.

Tiny buttons, no menus visible, semi-unreadable URL's (IE8), tabs... don't confuse "few buttons" with "not complex", that's "hiding things". One of the VERY common IE8 questions I get is "where's reload". It seriously, seriously bugs people!

This is intimidating to people who don't use computers very often. IE6, for all it's flaws, had big buttons with an address bar directly below them, etc.

Setting up an option start which has a "Look like IE6" button would help. It would be practical and get people moving off IE6, as they are only VERY slowly at the moment. I've found (and I help a charity which is involved in this) that setting up more modern browsers with large icons and so on like IE6 considerably smooths the transition.

I think its hardly about not being able to figure out how to use the browser its more of the fact that people get intimidated when asked to make decisions or update something. A lot of people have this irrational fear that if they do something its not going to work.

The thing about IE 6 users is... that they're either on company machines or else they're not a part of the tech community and simply do not give a shit.

Seriously, these people don't like change for its own sake and won't care about any rational argument you'll make on the subject. They're unconvertible. If it's going to happen it'll come with natural attrition of old machines and the eventual conversion of those holdout corporations who finally build new key software.

Don't bitch about IE 6 - it was fine in its day. Bitch about the people who haven't upgraded to one of the two, soon three succeeding versions.

I know, I was taking issue with something said in the article. If they want to filter out Facebook there are far easier ways of doing that than insisting on people using a browser that gives them a sub-optimal Facebook experience and hope they just lose interest.

But that's a worse way, because it breeds resentment: it tells your employees that you think they're all badly-behaved children and you need to actively stop them visiting certain websites.

Whereas this way, it's not your fault that they can't use YouTube/Facebook/etc. properly. You've done nothing patronizing. It's just that the websites decided to break IE6.

It's a much less confrontational way of dealing with the issue of Internet time-wasting.

If I was an employer I would likely view my staff's productivity rate as much more important than being a bit confrontational. But then I don't think that's confrontational at all. Blacklist a site (behind the scenes, I might add), let them grumble a bit then back to work. Tough.

Microsoft has done everything it can to accommodate those who for whatever reason are forced to continue using IE6 for internal line-of-business apps. Up to and including emulation products specifically designed to facilitate the use of IE6 on Windows 7.

It's time to start cutting people off. If you have a line-of-business application that requires IE6, run it in XP Mode.

Lots of people care, because it makes web development way more expensive than it needs to be. Clients care. Dev shops care. Designers care.

I think you misinterpreted jakem1's original question. "Who caress?" I, for one, don't know how to answer it. Future reference, jakem1, if you're going to try to be a troll, you should not leave yourself open to be made fun of.